


Couldn't Wait 'til I was Older

by yourekindof_weird



Series: Stuckony Have a Daughter [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Steve and Bucky have a secret daughter, Tony Stark Has A Heart, but not too much Angst, mentions of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2019-03-19 14:52:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13706739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourekindof_weird/pseuds/yourekindof_weird
Summary: “So let me get this straight,” Clint said, “You had… have, a daughter, named Beth, who’s alive right now,” Steve and Bucky nodded, “And you need our help to find her and unfreeze her?” Again, they nodded. “Jesus.”...They never say that you gotta grow up quite this soon.





	1. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds out about Beth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah! Another story. This one is long. I'm already done writing it so chapters should come out quickly! Thanks for reading!

It had been a year since one James Buchanan Barnes came to live at the tower with the rest of the Avengers. It had been 9 months since everybody found out that Bucky and Steve had been together back in the 30s and 40s, and that they were together again now. It had been 7 months since Tony was added into their relationship. 

 

Tony had liked the two super soldiers, but hadn’t said anything. Why would he ruin such a perfect relationship? And then Steve had kissed him. In front of Bucky. And Bucky didn’t do anything. Well, he didn’t do anything  _ bad.  _ He sure as hell did  _ something.  _ When Tony had begun apologising, since he  _ had  _ kissed back, Bucky had shut him up… by kissing him too. 

 

Now, they were all three of them in a relationship, and it was great. At first, Tony was worried that he was intruding, but Steve and Bucky made sure he knew that wasn’t true. 

 

Tony was in his lab when Natasha came to talk to him. She had to physically drag him away from one of his projects, depositing him onto the couch that he had in the lab. 

 

“Your boyfriends are not okay,” She said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

 

“What do you mean?” Tony asked her. Were they hurt? Had something happened during a mission? No, they hadn’t had any missions recently. 

 

“I mean, they seem really upset today,” Natasha told him, “And frankly, I’m sick of seeing them mope around. They won’t talk to anybody,” she turned to walk away. She stopped when she was in the doorway, turning back around, “Go talk to them, there’s clearly something wrong.” She might not show it, but she cared about the team. 

 

Tony didn’t hesitate, asking FRIDAY where he could find his boyfriends. They were on their shared floor, which had once just belonged Tony. He took the elevator up and found them curled up on the couch. Bucky’s head was resting on Steve’s chest. Steve was combing his fingers through Bucky’s hair, and Bucky had his eyes closed, but it was clear he was awake. Natasha had been right, though. They definitely were not okay. 

 

Steve met his eyes. “Hey,” the soldier said. Bucky opened his eyes, and upon seeing Tony, sat up a bit to make room for the other man. Tony joined them on the couch, sandwiching Bucky between him and Steve. 

 

“Right,” Tony said when he had situated himself, “What’s wrong?” That earned him two confused looks. Tony sighed, “There’s clearly something wrong, what is it?” He asked earnestly. Steve and Bucky’s eyes met. They were doing that silent communicate-y (oh sue him, it’s a word) thingy that they do all the time. They seemed to come to a decision. 

 

“Tony,” Steve started. God, did that tone ever sound like ‘the breakup tone’ that was used so many times in movies, and in real life throughout a lot of Tony’s life. Tony was immediately scared. What if this was it? What if they realized that him being part of their relationship was a mistake?

 

“Way back in the 30s and 40s,” Steve continued. Tony braced himself as Steve continued to speak, “Bucky and I, um…” Steve trailed off. Bucky grabbed Steve’s hand.

 

“Steve and I,”  _ Here it comes,  _ Tony thought. Bucky breathed in like he was preparing himself, collecting his thoughts, “Steve and I used to have a sort of daughter.” Tony might have actually died. He whipped his head back and forth, staring at his boyfriends. His mind wasn’t quite catching up to what was happening. First of all, they weren’t breaking up with him. Second of all… 

 

“You had what!?” 

 

“A daughter,” Steve said, “Her name was Elizabeth. I found her getting beaten up by some young boys, she was a runaway orphan,” he added, “And when I jumped in to save her, Buck ended up having to save us both,” he gazed at Bucky, remembering the moment happily.

 

“We took her in,” Bucky said, “And today was her birthday.” And  _ oh.  _ That explained it. That night was spent with Steve and Bucky talking about their long lost daughter and all their memories of her. Steve seemed to remember a bit more, but Bucky was getting there. He definitely remembered more of his past than he did a year ago. 

 

Apparently, the two of them had tried to find her in this time. She wouldn’t have been too old now, and it was possible that she was still alive, considering Peggy Carter had been. However, they couldn’t find her. They suspected, and this had caused them both to tear up, that she had died during the war. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much record of her, other than her birth certificate. She would have been about fourteen when Steve had gone down into the ice, way back when.

…

 

A few weeks later, Tony was once again in his lab. Steve was on the couch, sketching, and listening to Tony whenever the genius was rambling about one project or another. 

 

Tony was working intently when he was startled out of his ‘zone’ by loud stomps, heaving breathing, and somebody throwing themselves at his artist boyfriend. He turned, ready to fight, only to find Bucky had his arms wrapped tight around Steve. The metal-armed man seemed to be crying and shaking. 

 

Just as quickly as he’d attacked Steve, Bucky turned and wrapped his arms around Tony, talking the shorter man by surprise. 

 

“What happened?” Steve asked softly. From what it looked like, Bucky had gotten another memory.

 

“Sh-she, oh God, Steve,” Bucky had pulled away from Tony, and was now looking at his two boyfriends, “Hydra took Beth when they took me,” he said, just barely getting the words out. Steve gasped, eyes widening. 

 

“They used her to brainwash me faster,” Bucky said, “They, they hurt her!” And he was crying again. Steve and Tony rushed to him, wrapping their arms around him and kissing him. Steve was crying now too. It was strange to see them cry so much. Tony had never seen anything like this. Elizabeth, Beth, must have meant a lot to them, more than they’d originally let on. 

 

Than a realization hit Tony so hard he felt like he’d just been exploded by a bomb, again. “Did they freeze her too?” he asked, jumping away from his boyfriends, his mind working quickly. 

 

“What?” Bucky asked, wiping his eyes.

 

“They took her when they took you. Did they freeze her too? How often did they use her?” Tony was pacing now, “But, if they did freeze her,” he said to himself, “That would mean they probably gave her the serum. But then, it makes sense that they would have frozen her, just in case their brainwashing unraveled a bi-”

 

“Tony!” Steve yelled. Tony looked up. Right. Bucky hadn’t answered his question yet. Steve and Tony looked at their other boyfriend.

 

“I can’t remem-” there was a pause, then, “Yes. They did, and they used her after Steve and I fought in D.C., on that freeway,” Bucky said. Wow, that was in this century, which meant…

 

“Oh my God,” Steve said, “She’s alive!” He gave Tony a big, wonderful kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The title is inspired by "Barbies" by Pink.


	2. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth can sing.

“So let me get this straight,” Clint said, “You had… have, a daughter, named Beth, who’s alive right now,” Steve and Bucky nodded, “And you need our help to find her and unfreeze her?” Again, they nodded. “Jesus.”

 

Clint, Natasha, Thor and Sam, the only other Avengers left in the tower at the moment, had been gathered onto the communal floor. It had been Tony’s idea to get their help. 

 

“Well, I’m in,” Sam said. Natasha nodded, silently agreeing to help. 

 

“I will aid in your search!” Thor said happily. Clint sighed, “I guess I’m helping too,” he said, but it was obvious he would have agreed to help no matter what. 

 

“So, what’s she look like?” Sam asked. Bucky was the one to produce the photograph. It was small, one that could fit into a wallet. Bucky had found it, along with a few other old belongings of his, the Avengers had attacked a Hydra base. Apparently, the photo had come from a photo booth. Photo booths would have been fairly new at the time, and consequently, quite popular. 

 

The girl in the photo had dark brown hair and blue eyes. If Tony didn’t know any better, he’d think she was biologically related to both Steve and Bucky. She had a necklace around her neck that Steve had made for her. Her bright smile made dimples in her cheeks, and her eyes were bright with the happiness of youth. Behind her was Bucky, his arm draped across her shoulders, also smiling, and Steve, much shorter than both of them, a dopey smile on his face. The girl would be about eighteen now, if she’d been unfrozen with Bucky. 

 

There was loud gasp from one member of the team when they were shown the photo. It was Sam, staring wide-eyed at the smiling girl. 

 

“What?” Steve asked, “Sam?”

 

“I know her!” Sam said. Tony’s eyes widened, and he saw his boyfriends’ jaws drop. 

 

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked, unbelieving.

 

“I don’t mean personally,” Sam explained, “But there’s a coffee shop I like going to, she works there,” Tony handed the Falcon a StarkPad. The man knew what Tony wanted him to do, and started pulling up the address to the coffee shop on the Map app. 

 

“She goes by Lizzy,” Sam explained as he tapped at the tablet in his hand. Steve muttered the name under his breath, like he was testing it out, and grimaced. It just didn't sound right. He’d always called her Beth, or Betty. Bucky was thinking the same thing.

 

“Here,” Sam showed the StarkPad to the rest of the team.

 

“Alright, let’s go,” Natasha said.

 

“Now?” Clint questioned, “We don’t even know if it’s her shift.”

 

“Don’t worry,” Sam said, “She’s usually there. She loves her job.” 

…

 

The cafe was small and quaint, and definitely had an older feel to it. Steve could understand why Beth liked this place. The air inside was a pleasant warm, a good contrast to the cool fall air outside. The place smelled of fresh baked pastries and strong coffee. 

 

There was a stage at the opposite end of the cafe. On it was a girl, singing with the most beautiful voice that any of the Avengers had ever heard.

 

There was a tug on Steve’s jacket and he was pulled into a booth. Somebody sat down beside him, so now he was squished between Bucky and Tony, facing the stage, while Natasha, Clint and Sam were across from them. Thor had pulled up a chair to sit at the end of the table. Natasha got up to get them coffee so they didn’t seem too suspicious. 

 

There were only seven other people in the cafe, a couple, a group of three teenagers, and the two people behind the counter. The girl continued to sing, not noticing the Avengers. She was about halfway through a song. Steve couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

 

“ _ They say that things were simple then _ ,” she sang, “ _ Although I don’t remember when. I wanna know what happens next, _ ” her voice was filled with emotion, “ _ Where do we all go? _ ”

 

The music picked up, “ _ And I lock every single door, And I look behind me even more, And now turned into someone that I swore I would never be… _ ” there was a slight pause in the music before she hit the chorus,

 

“ _ Oh I wish I could go, _

_ Back to playing Barbies in my room. _

_ They never say, _

_ That you gotta grow up quite this soon. _

_ How fast things change, and now I’m here _

_ And all I wanna do, _

_ Is go back to playing Barbies in my room,” _

 

Bucky was staring, shocked, at the girl on stage. Her singing voice was similar to what it had been, though a little deeper, probably due to age. Her brown hair, which used to be long, was cut into a short bob, just brushing her shoulders. Her blue eyes were bright, showing emotion the same way her voice was. 

 

“ _ Pink canopies and grass-stained knees, _

_ Putting fireflies in a jar, _

_ Getting home before it’s dark, _

_ Scotch-taping posters on my wall, _

_ Rolling Pixie Sticks to smoke, _

_ Couldn’t wait ‘til I was older,” _

 

Beth sang the song beautifully, her voice powerful, captivating. The entire cafe was silent as they listened.

 

“ _ And I wish I could go, _

_ Back to playing Barbies in my room. _

_ They never say,” _

 

Her voice was soft, building up slowly. Then she exploded, her voice once again filling the room.

 

_ “That you gotta grow up quite this soon! _

_ How fast things change, and now I’m here _

_ And all I wanna do, _

_ Is go back to playing Barbies in my room,” _

 

Natasha’s eyes were closed as she listened to the final lines of the song. Clint had turned up his hearing aid just to hear Beth’s singing voice. Thor was enraptured. Tony was gazing at his two boyfriends, who were looking lovingly at their long lost daughter. 

 

“ _ I wish that I could go back, _

_ Back to playing Barbies in my… room.” _

 

The song ended and Beth smiled to the small crowd, still not noticing the Avengers. She sang more songs, taking a two minute break after five more songs, before going right back to singing. She mostly stuck with covers of Pink, but sang some Hayley Kiyoko and Niall Horan. Steve and Bucky didn’t even noticed that the other Avengers, other than Tony, had left. They’d all made the silent agreement to give them some space and time to talk to the young girl.

 

“Alright, last song everybody!” Beth said happily into the microphone. It was around eight at night, and Beth still hadn’t noticed Bucky, Steve and Tony. That was probably because Steve and Bucky hid their faces whenever she looked in their direction.

 

The couple from before had left, but there were now two different couples, an exhausted looking family of five, and the three teenagers from before were still there. The two people who had been behind the counter had been switched out with another two a few hours ago. One of the two new people, a boy that looked around Beth’s age, came up on stage with her. The music started and she started to si- rap?

 

“ _ Like Leo in The Revenant, _

_ Abel in that Bible bit, _

_ Revenge is sweet, isn’t it? _

_ Really, really hope for it _

_ I know that it won’t fix a thing, _

_ A song like this that I could sing for you,” _

 

She hummed, her head bopping to the music as she sang. 

 

“ _ All the feels you make do, _

_ A nightmare - coming true,”  _

 

She didn’t sing the cuss, skipping it so you hardly noticed the line was missing anything.

 

“ _ I wish i was a lawyer, I would sue you, _

_ Sue you, take your dog, take your house, take your shoes, take your heart,” _

 

She put her hand over her heart as she sang the word, giving a faux-sweet smile.

 

“ _ Now here comes that singing part,”  _ The song slowed slightly, 

 

“ _ I’m daydreaming, _

_ Let me count the ways, _

_ How I’ll get you, or how I’ll make you pay, _

_ Babe, I’m hurting and now you’ll feel the same, _

_ That’s my plan, that’s my plan, that’s my plan,” _

 

She jumped into the chorus,

 

“ _ We could do revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge, _

_ Together, together, together, _

_ We could take revenge, revenge, revenge,  _

_ Revenge is sweet _ ,” 

 

Steve was taken aback as he watched her sing the song. Bucky was staring incredulously. He wasn’t surprised that she liked the song, though. Beth had never been the person for overly slow love songs, and there were plenty of those when she was growing up. This song was more her style.

 

“ _ Now here’s where girlfriends come in hand, _

_ Especially those that understand _

_ Crime’s a crime but listen man _

_ I really cannot give a damn, _

_ We’ve all been through this kind of thing, _

_ Say the word we make it sting for him… _

_ He can’t just get away with it, _

_ Eye for eye you piece of shh-” _

 

The young girl brought her finger to her mouth as she said “shh.”

 

“ _ You treat us like a garbage pit! _

_ Let me at him, wait for it, wait for it…” _

 

She smirked,

 

“ _ Here’s that singing part again,” _

 

She once again sang the chorus. At the end of it, however, she stepped backwards, letting the boy take the stage. He started his own rap, equally as good as she was. Tony was impressed by both of them. Beth danced around the boy as he sang his part. They had excellent chemistry, and it really looked like they were fighting.

 

“ _ So when you’re driving, driving to his house,”  _ The boy sang. He was nearing the end of his solo.

 

“ _ And you pass me while I’m driving to hers, _

_ Just remember, you cheated on me first, _

_ You’re a whore,” _

 

Steve’s eyes widened. He couldn’t comprehend why they’d censored the previous words but not this, and that his daughter was okay with being called that.

 

“ _ -ribble person, this is war, _

_ Fellas, ladies.” _

 

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at how they’d masked the word, and Steve was looking pretty relieved. Tony was watching his boyfriends’ faces, amused with their reactions. He’d heard the clean version of this song before.

 

Beth and the boy sang the chorus together, their voices blending together beautifully. At the end of the song, Beth gave the boy a hug then playfully shoved him off of the stage. He went back behind the counter.

 

“That was my friend Wyatt,” Beth said into the microphone, pointing to the boy who had sung with her, “Thank you all for coming, but we are closing up now!” She waved at everybody as they got up to leave. The three remaining Avengers stayed sitting though, silently agreeing to go talk to her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! The two songs in this chapter are "Barbies" by Pink and "Revenge" by Pink ft. Eminem.


	3. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit about Beth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Another chapter! This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but it has a bit of backstory on Beth. There are mentions of torture in this chapter but it's nothing too bad. Just the word 'hurt'.

Beth jumped off the stage to go talk to Wyatt. They’d known each other for a while now, and they were best friends. He didn’t know it, but when he found her she’d been confused, out of place. Hydra, had of course told her father, Bucky, a bit about modern technology so that the Winter Soldier could use it in the 21st century, and she just happened to be there at the time, so she had known a little bit, and she managed to just play her confusion off as having a sheltered childhood. Wyatt had helped her figure out the future, without even knowing that it was what he was doing. He’d taken her in, without asking questions, and his family had given her a home. 

 

She noticed there were still three people in one of the booths, so she went over to ask them to leave. It was usually her job to get rid of stragglers while Wyatt and Addison started cleaning and getting the place ready for the morning. She had started working at the cafe a month after Wyatt had found her. It had been four years since then, she was eighteen now.

 

Four years ago, she’d been unfrozen. Hydra needed her, because apparently the Winter Soldier was remembering things. They hurt her. Again. Then the Winter Soldier hadn’t come back. Eventually, had been able to escape. She had the serum in her, which helped, and the Hydra agents stationed to guard her had severely underestimated her. Her escape had taken effort, especially since she was already wounded from the torture, but she made it out. 

 

Wyatt and his family had taken her in. Well, technically, they thought she was an exchange student from Canada. There was actually supposed to be an exchange student from Canada, but she had cancelled last-minute, and thankfully she had messaged Wyatt first. Wyatt’s family thought her name was Elisa, but luckily for her, Lizzy was a nickname for Elizabeth too. 

 

She missed her own family. She had no idea where Pop (Bucky) was, and she didn’t know how she would find him. Then, about a year after she’d moved in with Wyatt’s family she’d seen a story on the news. A group called the Avengers had saved a bunch of people’s lives, again. This time against some robot thing called  _ Ultron,  _ or something. People were angry at them just as much as they were grateful. 

 

And then she’d seen footage of the Avengers… and she’d seen  _ Captain America.  _ It was unmistakably him. It was her father. She couldn’t figure out how she’d not  _ known  _ about this. Then again, people around her would talk about Captain America all the time. She thought maybe they were talking about the comics, which she knew about because Wyatt had some. 

 

She had immediately looked up Captain America on the Google, and sure enough, her dad was alive. He’d been frozen in ice for years, but he was alive, just like Pop was. She cried that night. 

 

She never tried to contact them, even when she found out her pop was back, and the brainwashing was gone. She was scared, for one, but she also had no idea  _ how.  _ And so, she kept to herself. Went to high school with Wyatt (and graduated), sang at the cafe, and she was going to start College in a year. 

 

Of course, Beth still thought about her parents. How could she not? She loved them, she idolized them, she  _ missed  _ them. Way back in the past, dad and pop had tried to hide their relationship from her. They played off their intimacy as just being best friends. She wasn’t stupid, though, and she figured it out pretty quickly. They were scared when she told them she knew, but she had just laughed and said she thought girls were pretty great. She later found out, as in, she found out in the 21st century, that she was bisexual, and that even though there were still a many people against it, homosexuality was okay. 

 

Wyatt thought she was just obsessed with Captain America. He’d caught her once, during one of her ‘internet stalking my fathers’ sessions. He’d teased her, but admitted he thought Captain America was great. She laughed when he said he thought the Captain and Iron Man, Tony Stark, would make a cute couple. 

 

“Excuse me,” Beth said politely before she’d even reached the table. She fiddled with the necklace around her neck, a gift from her dad, as she got up to the table, “I just wanted to let you know that we’re closin-” she stopped in front of the table and her eyes widened. Sitting in the booth was none other than Tony Stark. Oh yeah, and her parents. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah! Cliffhanger! Sorry!


	4. Lizzy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth is reunited with her dads (+1 more dad).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I've now posted two chapters today and this is the last one. Enjoy!

Right in front of her was her pop and dad. They were  _ here,  _ in the  _ cafe _ . Beth was freaking out. 

“Lizzy?” Wyatt had come around from the counter to see what the matter was. When he got to the table, he too froze, but recovered quickly,  _ sort of _ . 

“Oh my god! You’re Captain America, Iron Man, and the Winter Soldier!” Beth wanted to smack her friend in the face. 

“Wya-” 

“Beth,” her dad had spoken, speaking her name so softly she hardly heard it. Nobody had called her that in years. 

“Who’s Beth?” Wyatt asked. Beth still couldn’t speak. Her parents were  _ right there _ . And to top it off, her best friend was sort of making a fool of himself. She, along with her parents, it would seem, was startled out of her staring by Addison.

“Lizzy, Wyatt, I’m heading out! Don’t forget to lock up before you leave!” Addison yelled. There was the familiar sound of the employe door opening and closing, and then the cafe was flooded with silence. 

“Hello, my name is Tony Stark,”  _ Tony Stark _ said, “And we were just wondering if we could talk to… Lizzy,” he nodded his head to his boyfriends’ daughter. Wyatt raised his eyebrows at her, but took the hint and left. 

“Beth?” Pop said. She nodded. She was scared that if she said something, she’d start crying. She started crying anyway, and launched herself into her pop’s arms. 

She knew that he had one flesh arm and one metal arm, but feeling the cold metal hugging her startled her a bit. 

“Is there somewhere we can talk, kiddo?” Tony Stark asked. Beth nodded and managed to mutter out “back room” but she didn’t want to let go of her Pop. He got up, with her still in his arms, letting Tony and dad out of the booth. 

“Can I let go of you so we can go to that room?” Bucky asked his daughter, who was clinging to him like he might disappear if she let go. He felt her nod against his chest before disentangling herself from him.

They only just made it into the back room when she launched herself at Steve. “Oh god, I missed you so much!” Beth all but yelled. Bucky came up behind them, sandwiching his daughter between him and his boyfriend. 

“How long have you been awake?” Steve asked softly. He felt Beth tense in his arms. 

“I… um…” she broke away from the hug, backing away and wiping the tears from her eyes. Tony, Steve and Bucky stood and watched her as she moved, unsure of what to do and of what was happening.

“Four years.”

“What?”

“Oh god!”

“Jesus.”

“I didn’t know how to contact you,” Beth said. 

“Did you want us to find you?” Bucky asked. He was scared. Of himself. What if she’d been scared by the Winter Soldier and was now scared of him? What if it was his fault that she hadn’t come back to them?

“Yes! Oh god, yes!” Beth burst out, “That’s, when I first woke up I thought you were dead,” she told them, “And then I saw you, dad, on the news, and then later pop was on the news,” she was crying again. “I was so relieved you were okay, I just. They used me to brainwash you, and I was afraid that you seeing me would, I don’t know, set back your recovery,” she knew that wasn’t a good enough explanation, because she could have gone to dad before pop had even been found, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more.

“We’ve missed you,” Bucky said.

“We didn’t even know you were alive,” Steve added.

“Can we be a family again?” Beth asked.

“Only if you’re okay with having three dads,” Tony interjected. 

Beth smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this! I already have another fic started where Beth meets Peter (Parker) and Wyatt finds out what's going on. I really like Beth so I might do more stories with her interacting with the Avengers and maybe helping them on missions or with the press (and general public) finding out about Stuckony or Beth or both. 
> 
> I really hope you liked this! Thanks!


End file.
